Disposable tray



March 25, 1969 H, E, GOI GS 3,434,649

DISPOSABLE TRAY Filed May 2, 1967 INVENTOR. HAEFOED 5. oovvs;

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3,434,649 Patented Mar. 25, 1969 3,434,649 DISPOSABLE TRAY Hal-ford E.Goings, 5428 Center Drive, Washington, D.C. 20031 Filed May 2, 1967,Ser. No. 635,433 Int. Cl. B65d /48, N34

US. Cl. 229-28 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tray and a traysquare for forming a tray comprised of a unitary rigid sheet materialhaving a top portion which includes plural article receiving openings,side walls, an underlying bottom portion, a plurality of Wall talbsinterconnecting the top portion and the bottom portion and support tabsinterconnecting said top and bottom portions is disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This constitutes a modificationand improvement over the tray disclosed in my copending application Ser.No. 458,961, filed May 26, 1965, now Patent No. 3,326,445, Ser. No.461,815, filed June 7, 1965, now Patent No. 3,326,446, and my copendingapplication Ser. No. 635,- 432 filed of even date herewith.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionrelates to disposable trays for supporting food articles and foodcontainers of the type used in drive-in food service centers,cafeterias, and for prepackaged meals generally.

Description of the prior art A variety of disposable trays are known inthe prior art. Such trays are generally satisfactory for some purposesbut often involve considerable wastage of material in the constructionprocesses involved and often do not provide adequate separation andcompartrnentalization for handling various types of articles.Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvedtray of greater strength and rigidity and which may more economically bemanufactured.

SUMMARY A principal object of this invention is the provision of a morerigid, more versatile disposable tray of the type used for containing aplurality of food containers.

A specific object includes the provision of a parallelepipedous open:body tray including a pair of support tabs disposed proximate the endsthereof and extending perpendicular to the side walls thereof.

An additional specific object is the provision of a tray having agenerally centrally disposed tray area defined at the sides by the sidewalls of the tray and at the ends by wall tabs formed from the topportion of the tray engaging the bottom portion of the tray andincluding a partition therein.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a disposabletray having a double thickness portion of material in the bottom portionfor providing greater strength and rigidity.

The specific construction, certain of the specific elements and thecombinations and the overall combinational and constructional featuresof the tray comprise additional objects of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of theassembled tray.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the tray blank used for forming a tray squareand the tray of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an alternative embodiment of a partition for the tray ofFIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an alternative embodiment of the tray of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the blank for forming the tray of FIGURE 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference is made first to theembodiment of FIG- URES 1 and 2 and with particular reference toFIGURE 1. The tray 10 comprises a top portion 12 shown in two parts as12a and 12b, side walls 14 and. 16 and a bottom unit 18. As will beseen, the bottom unit is actually made up of two bottom portions 20 and22.

In the preferred embodiment, the top portion 12a is provided with a pairof round article receiving openings 24 and 26 for receiving such thingsas soup cups, cold drink cups, hot drink cups, round containers for icecream, desserts, etc. A similar round article receiving opening 28 isprovided in the top portion 12b. Both the top portions 12a and 12b areprovided with a generally rectangular article receiving opening 30 and32 respectively which are formed by tabs 34 and 36, shown best in FIGURE2. Such openings may be used for supporting square objects such ascigarette packages, square nut cups, or other receptacles or containers.In addition, top portion 12b includes an additional plurality ofopenings 38, 40, and 42 adapted to receive packets of sugar, salt andpepper and the like, if desired. The central area is formed as a trayarea for receiving a larger dish. or plate of any desired type of food.The tray area is bounded on the sides by side walls 1 4 and 16 and onthe ends by a pair of opposed wall tabs as will be described. The trayarea may be subdivided into partitions by a partition tab formed fromthe bottom portion or by a separate partition added in the tray area.The construction will be better understood from the construction of theblank as shown in FIGURE 2, to which reference is now particularly made.

The side walls 14 and 16 are, respectively, foldably connected to thetop portions 12aand 12b by fold scores 44 and 46. Similarly, the bottomportions 20 and 22 are connected, respectively, by fold scores 48 and 50to the side portions .14 and 16. The fold scores may be of the typeformed by perforations or may simply be crushed areas of the materialwhich, preferably, consists of substantially rigid fiberboard orcardboard.

The bottom portions 20 and 22 are provided, respectively, with slots 52,54 and 56, 58 which, when the tray is assembled are in registry andreceive slot engaging portions 60 and 62 of support tabs 34 and 36. Walltabs 64 and 66 include slot engaging portions 68 and 70 which areadapted to be received in slots 72 and 74 in bottom portion 20 and 76and 78 in bottom portion 22. Slots 72 and 76 are in registry and slots74 and 78 are in registry when the tray is assembled.

In one embodiment, the wall tabs 64 and 66 are provided with slots 80and 82, respectively, and the bottom portion 22 is provided with apartition tab 84 connected to the bottom portion 22 by a fold score 86.The partition tab 84 is provided with slot engaging portions 88 and 90adapted to be received, respectively, in slots 80 and 82 of the walltabs 64 and 66. If desired, a multiplicity of slots shown generally at92 may be provided around the circular article receiving openings 24, 26and 28. The slots form resilient fingers for more securely gripping around container. The slots are omitted from FIGURE 1 for purposes ofclarity.

It will be apparent that the blank is formed either from a rectangularsheet of substantially rigid material such as cardboard or fiberboard ormay be formed from a roll of such stock. After the blank is punched, asshown in FIGURE 2, it is folded along fold scores 44, 46, 48 and suchthat the edges of the bottom portions 20 and 22 overlap and are securedtogether such as by a glue line 94 to form a collapsed tray squarewhich, simply by exerting a simple manual force on the sides thereof,may be expanded into a substantially open paralle1epi pedousconfiguration as shown in FIGURE 1 and held in such configuration byengagement of the ends of wall tabs 64 and 66 against the side wallportions 14 and 16 and by engagement of the slot engaging portions and62 of tabs 34 and 36 in the slots 52 through 58.

The disposition of the slots is of particular importance in thisinvention. It will be noted that a substantially centrally disposeddouble layer portion is provided in the tray having slots therein forengaging the slot engaging portions of the wall tabs and of the supporttabs to give greater strength and rigidity than would be possible withonly a single layer of material. Even greater strength is provided bythe partition tab 84 and the slot engaging portions 88 and 90 thereonwhich are engaged in slots 80 and 82 of the wall tabs 64 and 66. Thisprevents disengagement of the wall tabs from the bottom and consequentlyprevents the collapsing of the tray. In an alternative embodiment, asimilar function is performed by a partition member, shown in FIGURE 3,which is substantially a fiat sheet of material having a first flatportion 96, a second flat portion 98 and a double fold vertical portion100 which will fit snugly in the tray area of tray 10. The partitionmember of FIGURE 3 is shown in reduced scale for convenience. Thepartition member may be also be fitted over the vertical partition 84 inthe configuration shown in FIGURE 1 if desired with the double foldmembers being disposed respectively on the two sides thereof.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the tray has substantiallygreater strength and rigidity than those of the prior art, providesadditional space for holding articles, and may be manufactured wit-hvirtually no waste of material.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGURES 4 and Sto which reference is now made.

In this embodiment there is provided a top portion 102, a first sidewall 104, a bottom portion 106 and a second side wall which comprisesoverlapping portions 108 and 110. In this configuration two articlereceiving openings 112 and 114 are provided for such things as hot orcold drink cups, soup dishes, etc.

As shown best in FIGURE 5, the portions 108 and are secured together bya glue line 116 and are, respectively, secured by fold scores 118 and120. The bottom portion 106 is secured by a score line 122 to the sidewall portion 104 and the side wall portion is secured by score line 124to the top portion 102. Extending from the side wall portion 104 are twoopposed parallel wall tabs 126 and 128 provided with slot engagingportions 130 and 132 for engaging in slots 134 and 136.

Extending between the two wall tabs 126 and 128 there is aperpendicularly disposed wall tab 138 provided with a slot engagingportion 140 for being engaged in slot 142. It will be noted that theends of the first two tabs 126 and 128 are angularly complementarilyformed with respect to the ends of the third tab 138. Tabs 126, 12 8 and138 are connected to the top portion 102 by fold scores 144, 146 and148.

Once the blank has been punched, as shown in FIG- URE 5, it is folded atthe fold scores 118, 120, 122 and 124 and the overlapping portions 108and 110 are secured together by glue line 116 to form a collapsed traysquare. The tray square may be formed, by simple manual force, into aparallelepipedous configuration as shown in FIGURE 4 and maintained insuch configuration by the insertion of slot engaging portions 130, 132

4 and 140 in the slots 134, 136 and 142 respectively. This provides acompact but rigid and sturdy construction which may be simply andeconomically made and distributed for single use.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there is described an invenionand two embodiments thereof which greatly simplifies the construction ofdisposable trays, makes such trays more useable and more rigid andprovides significant advantages over those of the prior art in theserespects and in other which will be apparent to those skilled in thisart. The invention has been summarized, abstracted and described andshown with reference to specific embodiments, constructions,combinations and elements but it will be understood that such disclosureis only for the purpose of permitting those skilled in the art topractice the invention and is not intended in a limiting sense.Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined and limited only bythe following claims.

I claim:

1. Atray comprising:

a top member having ends and sides, said top member including aplurality of article receiving openings therein, and at least one tabformed therein;

side walls extending downwardly from the top member;

a bottom member underlying the top member for supporting articles, saidbottom member including, at least one slot receiving said tab forsecuring the top and bottom members in spaced relation;

said top member further comprising;

a pair of compartment defining means, said means including slot engagingportions;

the bottom member further comprising, slots receiving the slot engagingportions;

said compartment defining means including, slots therein;

the bottom member further comprising:

compartment defining means extending therefrom dividing said firstdefined compartment into a plurality of compartments, with said meansincluding;

engaging means in the last named slots for fixing the compartmentdefining means.

2. A tray comprising:

a top member having ends and sides, said top member including aplurality of article receiving openings therein, and at least one tabformed therein;

side walls extending downwardly from the top member;

a bottom member underlying the top member for supporting articles, saidbottom member including, at least one slot receiving said tab forsecuring the top and bottom members in spaced relation;

said top member further comprising:

downwardly extending compartment defining means; and

the bottom member further comprising, upwardly extending compartmentdefining means engaging the downwardly extending compartment definingmeans for fixing the positions of the upwardly extending and thedownwardly extending compartment defining means.

3. A tray comprising:

a top member having ends and sides, said top member including aplurality of article receiving openings therein, and at least one tabformed the-rein;

side walls extending downwardly from the top member;

and

a bottom member underlying the top member for supporting articles, saidbottom member including, at least one slot receiving said tab forsecuring the top and bottom members in spaced relation;

said bottom member including two parallel spaced apart slots and a thirdslot spaced from one edge of the bottom portion intermediate the firsttwo slots and perpendicular thereto;

and comprising three wall tabs formed from the top member in a rightangular U shape, said wall tabs and a side wall portion defining a trayarea, and including first and second opposed parallel wall tabsextending inwardly from a side wall portion, said first and second tabshaving slot engaging portions for being received in the parallel slots,and a third tab perpendicular to and extending between the ends of thefirst and second wall tabs, said third tab including a slot engagingportion received in the third slot, said first and second wall tabshaving an angular edge at one end and the third wall tab having anangular edge at both ends complementary to the angular edges at therespective ends of the first and second wall tabs.

4. A t-ray blank for foldably forming a tray, said tray blank beingformed of unitary substantially rigid sheet material, comprising:

a top portion having plural openings therein including a tray opening;

opposed side wall portions secured by fold scores to the top portion;

bottom portions secured by fold scores to the side wall portions;

means for securing the bottom portions together to form a foldableparallelepipedous open body;

wall tabs secured by fold scores formed in the top portion extendingtransversely between the side wall portions for being folded downwardlyto define a tray area and for engaging the side wall portions tomaintain the top portion spaced from the bottom portions, said side wallportions defining the sides of the tray area; and

a partition tab secured by a fold score in a bottom portion disposed toengage the wall tabs when folded for dividing the tray area intocompartments.

5. The tray blank of claim 4 wherein at least one bottom portion isprovided with slots for receivingly engaging the ends of the wall tabsand the wall tabs are provided with slots for receivingly engaging theends of the partition tab.

6. The tray blank of claim 5 further comprising a pair of support tabssecured by a fold score in the top portion 5 for defining a pair ofarticle receiving openings therein.

7. The tray blank of claim 6 wherein:

the bottom portions are secured in a generally central overlapping area;

and wherein the slots for receiving the wall tabs and the support tabsare formed in both bottom portions in the overlapping area so as toprovide increased strength and rigidity by more securely 'receivinglyengaging the ends of said tabs.

8. The tray blank of claim 5 wherein the bottom portions are secured ina generally central overlapping relation, said overlapping portionsbeing provided with slots for more securely receivingly engaging theends of the wall tabs for providing greater rigidity.

9. The tray blank of claim 4 further comprising a pair of support tabssecured by a fold score in the top portion for defining a pair ofarticle receiving openings therein.

10. The tray blank of claim 5 wherein:

the bottom portions are secured in a generally central overlapping area;and

wherein the slots for receiving the wall tabs and the support tabs areformed in both bottom portions in the overlapping area so as to provideincreased strength and rigidity by more securely receivingly engagingthe ends of said tabs.

11. The tray blank of claim 6 wherein the bottom portions are secured ina generally central overlapping relation, said overlapping portionsbeing provided with slots for :more securely receivingly engaging theends of the Wall tabs for providing greater rigidity.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,640,589 6/1953 Poster et a1.22928 XR 2,695,712 11/ 1954 Kolander. 2,875,940 3/1959 Dunn 229303,009,623 11/1961 Wenzel 22928 3,181,770 5/1965 Coe 229-30 3,253,7665/1966 Coe 229-28 3,326,445 6/ 1967 Goings. 3,326,446 6/1967 Goings.

DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 206-72

